Nuclear power generation refers to an apparatus using nuclear fission occurring in a nuclear reactor. That is, the nuclear power generation refers to an apparatus wherein nuclear fission takes place by causing neutrons to collide with uranium nuclei, and converts heat resulting from nuclear fission into electric power.
The nuclear power plant requires a large amount of initial construction costs in comparison with other power generation methods, but has advantages in that power generation cost is low in view of cheap fuel cost. Furthermore, it is environmentally friendly because the nuclear power plant emits an extremely small amount of greenhouse gases. However, there are drawbacks in that radiation generated during a power generation process is detrimental to the environment or human bodies, and there still remain social issues and problems related to the storage and/or final disposal of high-level radioactive waste, and there are concerns about nuclear power plant accidents.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a nuclear power generation process in the related art. Referring to the related art, a nuclear power generation system includes a nuclear reactor 6, a steam generator 10, a turbine 20, a condenser 30, and the like.
Heat generated by nuclear fission in the reactor 6 is transferred to the steam generator 10 that produces high-temperature and high-pressure steam by using the transferred heat. The steam produced at the steam generator 10 is supplied into the turbine 20, and an electric generator 12 connected to the turbine 20 produces electricity.
Meanwhile, the steam used to produce electricity in the turbine 20 is supplied to the condenser 30. An inlet pipe 32 is installed to the condenser 30 such that seawater is introduced into the condenser 30, and a discharge pipe 34 is installed to the condenser 30 such that the introduced seawater is discharged back to the outside.
The condenser 30 produces condensate water by liquefying the steam discharged from the turbine 20. The seawater, which is introduced into the inlet pipe 32, may be used to liquefy the steam because the seawater is cold. The temperature of the seawater used to liquefy the steam is high, and the seawater is discharged to the discharge pipe 34.
In general, the temperature of the seawater used to liquefy the steam is increased by about 9 to 10° C. For example, in a case in which the seawater at temperature of 25° C. is introduced into the inlet pipe 32, the seawater, which has been used for the liquefaction process, is discharged to the discharge pipe 34 at higher temperature of about 35° C.
The condensate water produced in the condenser 30 is supplied back to the steam generator 10 by a circulation pump 14, and the steam generator 10 produces steam by using heat generated by nuclear fission.
Above, high-temperature seawater is discharged in the related art. The high-temperature seawater may adversely affect an environment and an ecosystem, and thus may be restricted by environmental regulations.
Therefore, in some instances, the discharged high-temperature seawater is mixed with cold seawater supplied from the deep sea, and then the seawater is discharged. However, this solution is not preferred because there are problems of complicated process and increased cost to be incurred.
In the Middle East, the seawater temperature is relatively high by and large, such that the amount of introduced seawater is 1.5 times larger than that in Korea. In particular, this problem is more serious in the west coast of the Persian Gulf, where the depth of the sea is very shallow and accordingly water temperature draws keen attention.
Meanwhile, in the related art, the high-temperature seawater discharged from the nuclear power plant is used in a desalination factory. The seawater needs to be heated to a temperature of 100° C. or higher in the desalination factory, and in a case in which the high-temperature seawater discharged from the nuclear power plant is used, energy required to heat the seawater may be saved as much as the amount of increased high-temperature seawater.
However, because the temperature of the seawater from the nuclear power plant is about 35° C., it is necessary to additionally heat the seawater even in the related art.
Therefore, there is a need for the development of a seawater desalination system capable of more efficiently using high-temperature seawater discharged from nuclear power plant.